Michael Johnson is in his fifth season on the Tiger coaching staff in 2013 and serves as the volunteer assistant coach, working primarily with infielders and hitters. In his nine years associated with the Tiger program, Clemson has been to the NCAA Tournament all nine years, including three College World Series trips and six super regional appearances. He is also Clemson's first-base coach and wears the #31 jersey, the same number he wore during his playing days as an All-American in Tigertown when he hit 58 career home runs.

In his first season as a coach at Clemson in 2009, he worked with first-baseman Ben Paulsen, who hit .367 with 13 homers and 61 RBIs. He was also instrumental in the Tigers' .304 batting average in ACC regular-season games and the team winning the Clemson Regional.

In 2010, Clemson slugged 93 home runs and batted .306 with a .403 on-base percentage. The team exhibited the same patience and power at the plate that Johnson showed as a player, as Clemson's 375 walks were third-most in the nation. The Tigers were also fifth in the nation in runs (600) and tied for 15th in homers. First-baseman Richie Shaffer batted .323 as a freshman and hit three combined homers in the Tigers' two wins in the Clemson Super Regional that propelled them to Omaha.

The 2011 Tigers were sixth in the nation in batting average (.318) and led the ACC by 14 points. Clemson was also sixth in the nation in walks, 11th in runs, 14th in slugging percentage, and tied for 14th in stolen bases. Johnson coached ACC Player-of-the-Year Brad Miller. The shortstop was a first-team All-American who hit an ACC-best .395. Johnson also coached Shaffer, a First-Team All-ACC first-baseman who led the team with 13 home runs.

In 2012, the Tigers had a school-record .973 fielding percentage. Clemson's first four batters in the lineup all earned All-ACC honors, including Shaffer at third base. Shaffer was a first-team All-American by Perfect Game who hit .336 with 10 homers and a .480 on-base percentage.

Johnson received four letters as a standout first-baseman at Clemson (2000-03). His 58 home runs (third), .636 slugging percentage (fifth), and 213 RBIs (sixth) are all among the top career figures in Tiger history. Johnson was also a career .344 hitter with 275 hits, 52 doubles, a .465 on-base percentage, and 25 steals in 235 games as a part of four NCAA Tournament teams and two College World Series squads (2000,02).

The two-time Tiger captain was a two-time recipient of the Bob Bradley Award as Clemson's MVP of the season series against South Carolina thanks in part to his 10 home runs in 16 career games against the rival Gamecocks. He also owned a .500 batting average with four home runs and 11 RBIs in 10 career ACC Tournament contests and totaled 2,131 putouts in his career as one of the best defensive first-basemen in school history.

Johnson red-shirted in 1999 and played 44 games as a red-shirt freshman in 2000. As a sophomore in 2001, he hit .321 with 18 homers and 54 RBIs. During the second half of the season, he hit a long ball in five consecutive games, tying a school record. He was also named Clemson Regional MVP that year.

As a junior in 2002, he became a part of one of the top trios in college baseball history. Johnson, National Player-of-the-Year Khalil Greene, and Jeff Baker all hit at least 25 home runs to lead the Tigers to a top-four finish in Omaha, where he was named to the All-College World Series team. Johnson, a second-team All-American by ABCA, hit .384 with 25 homers and 81 RBIs in 2002.

Despite being drafted in the second round by the San Diego Padres in the summer of 2002, he elected to return for his senior year in 2003. That year, he hit .338 with 12 homers, 51 RBIs, and a .498 on-base percentage thanks to 63 walks. He was a First-Team All-ACC selection for the second year in a row and received the Mitchell Award as Clemson's MVP.

Johnson, a powerful lefthanded hitter, later signed with the Padres in the summer of 2003 and played at every minor league level from 2003-07. He also had a brief stint in the Houston Astros farm system in 2007. In his minor league career, Johnson totaled 90 doubles, 11 triples, 69 homers, and 264 RBIs in 391 games.

Johnson's best minor league campaign came during the 2005 season, when he batted .295 with 20 doubles, five triples, 21 home runs, and 76 RBIs in only 73 contests with the Lake Elsinore Storm (High A).

Johnson, who will turn 33 on June 25, graduated from Clemson with a degree in career & technology education in 2008. The Georgetown, SC native is married to the former Carrie Breed. The couple has a son, Mike (3). Johnson was born June 25, 1980 in Georgetown, SC.